bill_gauthier 's review for:

The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels by Stephen King by Stephen King, Richard Bachman

3.0

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These books, written before King became a household name, show an astonishing ability to tell a story from an early age. The first novel, which King has pulled from publication, Rage, is better than its subject material in many ways and shows directions King would take later on. The Long Walk and The Running Man are science fiction stories set in realistic near futures, and Roadwork is a mainstream novel about loss. None of them are particularly great, but all of them show the sort of storytelling abilities King would later show. Along with Carrie, King's first published novel, and Night Shift, his first collection of short stories, it provides a great glimpse of a young writer coming into his own. Follow these with 'Salem's Lot and The Shining, and you'll see a progression that is amazing.